Dear Sisters, I’m writing this open letter because I’m scared by this inflection point we’ve arrived at, one that implies or outright states that anyone who speaks against the war in Gaza is not a Jewish ally. Or that anyone who speaks out against the Israeli far-right government is antisemitic. What a bind we put ourselves in if these things are true.
Oh my goodness, Brooke, you have nailed it completely--how badly we all need both/and. How everyone needs to find a way to compassion for the suffering, especially of the innocent and defenseless children of Gaza, and their families, and for the continued suffering of the hostages in Gaza and their families. All or none has never worked. Black and white polarities. That is how it was in pre-war Germany and how it is in every situation that dehumanizes what one group considers the "other." Like what is happening in the USA now. This is a very dangerous time when those who see and understand the both/and are also in danger, and have to decide when to speak up and take a stand. Thank you for offering your personal generational history as an other lens through which to see your courageous response. I hope that you withstand any possible criticism that could come at you because you are not allowing either/or and that you hold a continued fierce warrior pose, as there are times when that is necessary. You are a warrior always for the stories of trauma and wounding, and love and compassion, and for a deeper understanding of the world through the books that you publish. Much love to you, from your fellow memoirist and historian about the terrible signs of division that have existed for decades, centuries, and millennia.
Brooke, you’re such a good, caring person and I love you for writing this. I’m sure it was not easy. As a Jewish author, I so deeply appreciated the email you and Crystal sent out after the October 7th attacks. I’m on email lists for about 20 publishers and related professional organizations. The email I got from SWP was the only email I received about October 7th. It meant a lot. The silence of others was deafening. As I’ve watched the horror unfold for months, I have also felt all the things you’ve expressed and pray there will be a ceasefire to end this despicable violence. There is so much oppression and injustice. There is a great need to separate how we see innocent civilians versus vengeful governments. Everyone deserves their human rights protected. Both/and. Full stop.
100% agree. People don't seem to understand both/and. Many things can be true: all this started bc of Hamas AND Hamas doesn't care about Palestinians (neither does most of Arab world; they use them as political pawns) AND what Israel.is doing goes beyond Just War theory and into genocide AND Jews were subject to genocide in the past and are fearful AND just bc they were subject to genocide does NOT mean the state of Israel would not commit genocide AND this war is raising up an entire generation who WILL hate Jews who support this genocide. Also: the line in here that publishing is overwhelmingly Jewish. I did not know that was still true. Good luck to you and thank you for your work and for speaking out (my opinions come from my life as a journalist who did reporting on Palestine after the second intifada and a trip I took to Israel in early 2000s as a guest of Israeli government. I got stories....) Thank you again, Brooke.
This is beautiful and echoes my own feelings. I too support both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people and hate their (supposed) leaders. To cry out against the genocide of any people is not supporting antisemitism. Let us all unite to support humanity, always, and to condem state sponsored terrorism and genocide as an answer, always.
Thank you, Brooke. You’ve said everything I’ve been thinking and feeling with such clarity and grace. You’re brave to say it, and I’m grateful for your bravery and vulnerability.
A difficult post to write, I’m sure, and I admire your bravery, as always. I feel just as you do, my heart breaking for all the innocent people in BOTH Israel AND Gaza.
I'm scared, too. Can we not see what will happen next in Rafah? Can we not see Trump will take the presidency whether he wins the election or not? In the face of fear, you find the courage to write and act. Thanks for lighting the way.
The other problem is unfortunately there aren't too many voices who express concern for Gazans while at the same time placing the blame for this disaster where it belongs: on the shoulders of Hamas. Even Fatah, the Palestinian party that governs the West Bank, recognizes this.
"[Fatah] condemned Hamas for creating “a catastrophe more horrific and cruel than the catastrophe of the Nakba [Israel’s inception in 1948].”
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, quoted Fatah as stating: “Whoever caused Israel’s reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, and caused the Nakba [catastrophe] that the Palestinian people are [now] experiencing… does not have the right to dictate national priorities.” It also decried Hamas for executing the will of Iran at its own people’s terrible expense, while leading lives of opulence in Qatar."
Why can't progressive voices in the West do the same? The most tragic outcome of blaming Israel for this disaster is that it will further empower Hamas and will bring on more suffering to Gazans.
Thank you for this, Brooke. I am also an "Both/and" believer and this is the mantra I follow as much as I can. With regard to the use of "genocide" I offer you (with full respect and admiration for articulating your stance) my "Open Letter to the Rumpus" that I published in 2021 in response to the (Jewish) editor and owner Marisa Siegal's use of the Rumpus Newsletter to condemn Israel for apartheid and genocide. https://merionwest.com/2021/06/08/an-open-letter-to-the-rumpus/
My question to "us" Jews who strongly support the right of BOTH Palestinians and Jews to have equal rights and a homeland in Israel/Palestine in which to thrive, be safe, and autonomous: Knowing our history, and what has happened everywhere where Jews have been a minority population, how can we envision the safety of Israelis/Jews if one, democratic nation is created where Jews and Arabs live side by side? Becasue of course, in short time, the Jews will again become a minority, and for anyone who has studied the lives of Jews in Europe (like you) or in Islamic lands, as I have (Phd, book, etc) we know the outcome. Jews under Islam has a myth of "peaceful co-existence" that often subverts or prefers to look away from the fact that the status of Jews as dhimmi, inferior but "protected"(by paying the imposed special tax called jizyiah) only helped so much, until it didn't, and then we are again the subjugated, discriminated, humiliated minority, whose "citizenship" or belonging and safety becomes arbitrary and fragile. So how can we realistically pursue this BOTH/AND, in Israel Palestine, now that a two state solutions seems so completely off the table? Becasue, as my father used to say, "people are people are people." Power, religion, extremism, racism...will not go away. I am so worried about all this that I have trouble sleeping at night.
Thank you, Brooke, you once again show your leadership by speaking out when it's uncomfortable and by setting an example by communicating with nuance. That we see light and dark in this terrible situation, not a blind alligiance one way or another, is how we will keep our humanity.
Beautiful post. It’s a relief to see somebody articulate what’s been on my mind, and in my heart for weeks. As you said, I think many of us feel the same way, but it is so difficult to express ourselves in this environment. I don’t want to politicize my heartbreak by putting it out in social media.
Brooke, your beautiful voice and words have touched my heart. Thank you for articulating what I feel. We need to stop this insidious divisive rhetoric and start coming together as one.
Oh my goodness, Brooke, you have nailed it completely--how badly we all need both/and. How everyone needs to find a way to compassion for the suffering, especially of the innocent and defenseless children of Gaza, and their families, and for the continued suffering of the hostages in Gaza and their families. All or none has never worked. Black and white polarities. That is how it was in pre-war Germany and how it is in every situation that dehumanizes what one group considers the "other." Like what is happening in the USA now. This is a very dangerous time when those who see and understand the both/and are also in danger, and have to decide when to speak up and take a stand. Thank you for offering your personal generational history as an other lens through which to see your courageous response. I hope that you withstand any possible criticism that could come at you because you are not allowing either/or and that you hold a continued fierce warrior pose, as there are times when that is necessary. You are a warrior always for the stories of trauma and wounding, and love and compassion, and for a deeper understanding of the world through the books that you publish. Much love to you, from your fellow memoirist and historian about the terrible signs of division that have existed for decades, centuries, and millennia.
Brooke, you’re such a good, caring person and I love you for writing this. I’m sure it was not easy. As a Jewish author, I so deeply appreciated the email you and Crystal sent out after the October 7th attacks. I’m on email lists for about 20 publishers and related professional organizations. The email I got from SWP was the only email I received about October 7th. It meant a lot. The silence of others was deafening. As I’ve watched the horror unfold for months, I have also felt all the things you’ve expressed and pray there will be a ceasefire to end this despicable violence. There is so much oppression and injustice. There is a great need to separate how we see innocent civilians versus vengeful governments. Everyone deserves their human rights protected. Both/and. Full stop.
Your strong voice always inspires me. The heart you wear so unapologetically on your sleeve is loving and brave. ♥️
100% agree. People don't seem to understand both/and. Many things can be true: all this started bc of Hamas AND Hamas doesn't care about Palestinians (neither does most of Arab world; they use them as political pawns) AND what Israel.is doing goes beyond Just War theory and into genocide AND Jews were subject to genocide in the past and are fearful AND just bc they were subject to genocide does NOT mean the state of Israel would not commit genocide AND this war is raising up an entire generation who WILL hate Jews who support this genocide. Also: the line in here that publishing is overwhelmingly Jewish. I did not know that was still true. Good luck to you and thank you for your work and for speaking out (my opinions come from my life as a journalist who did reporting on Palestine after the second intifada and a trip I took to Israel in early 2000s as a guest of Israeli government. I got stories....) Thank you again, Brooke.
This is beautiful and echoes my own feelings. I too support both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people and hate their (supposed) leaders. To cry out against the genocide of any people is not supporting antisemitism. Let us all unite to support humanity, always, and to condem state sponsored terrorism and genocide as an answer, always.
Thank you, Brooke. You’ve said everything I’ve been thinking and feeling with such clarity and grace. You’re brave to say it, and I’m grateful for your bravery and vulnerability.
Brave and true. It's heartbreaking to witness how trauma begets trauma begets trauma and justifies the tragic consequences.
A difficult post to write, I’m sure, and I admire your bravery, as always. I feel just as you do, my heart breaking for all the innocent people in BOTH Israel AND Gaza.
You've given us language for our own conversations. Yes, both...and to humanity. Thank you.
I'm scared, too. Can we not see what will happen next in Rafah? Can we not see Trump will take the presidency whether he wins the election or not? In the face of fear, you find the courage to write and act. Thanks for lighting the way.
Brooke, the big problem is that English speaking media consistently misrepresents what's going on in Israel. This post by @Elisa Wald explains it better than I can: https://neveralone.substack.com/p/the-myopia-of-the-western-lens
The other problem is unfortunately there aren't too many voices who express concern for Gazans while at the same time placing the blame for this disaster where it belongs: on the shoulders of Hamas. Even Fatah, the Palestinian party that governs the West Bank, recognizes this.
This is from another one of Elissa Wald's posts (this one https://neveralone.substack.com/p/hamans):
"[Fatah] condemned Hamas for creating “a catastrophe more horrific and cruel than the catastrophe of the Nakba [Israel’s inception in 1948].”
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, quoted Fatah as stating: “Whoever caused Israel’s reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, and caused the Nakba [catastrophe] that the Palestinian people are [now] experiencing… does not have the right to dictate national priorities.” It also decried Hamas for executing the will of Iran at its own people’s terrible expense, while leading lives of opulence in Qatar."
Why can't progressive voices in the West do the same? The most tragic outcome of blaming Israel for this disaster is that it will further empower Hamas and will bring on more suffering to Gazans.
Thank you for this, Brooke. I am also an "Both/and" believer and this is the mantra I follow as much as I can. With regard to the use of "genocide" I offer you (with full respect and admiration for articulating your stance) my "Open Letter to the Rumpus" that I published in 2021 in response to the (Jewish) editor and owner Marisa Siegal's use of the Rumpus Newsletter to condemn Israel for apartheid and genocide. https://merionwest.com/2021/06/08/an-open-letter-to-the-rumpus/
My question to "us" Jews who strongly support the right of BOTH Palestinians and Jews to have equal rights and a homeland in Israel/Palestine in which to thrive, be safe, and autonomous: Knowing our history, and what has happened everywhere where Jews have been a minority population, how can we envision the safety of Israelis/Jews if one, democratic nation is created where Jews and Arabs live side by side? Becasue of course, in short time, the Jews will again become a minority, and for anyone who has studied the lives of Jews in Europe (like you) or in Islamic lands, as I have (Phd, book, etc) we know the outcome. Jews under Islam has a myth of "peaceful co-existence" that often subverts or prefers to look away from the fact that the status of Jews as dhimmi, inferior but "protected"(by paying the imposed special tax called jizyiah) only helped so much, until it didn't, and then we are again the subjugated, discriminated, humiliated minority, whose "citizenship" or belonging and safety becomes arbitrary and fragile. So how can we realistically pursue this BOTH/AND, in Israel Palestine, now that a two state solutions seems so completely off the table? Becasue, as my father used to say, "people are people are people." Power, religion, extremism, racism...will not go away. I am so worried about all this that I have trouble sleeping at night.
Thank you, Brooke, you once again show your leadership by speaking out when it's uncomfortable and by setting an example by communicating with nuance. That we see light and dark in this terrible situation, not a blind alligiance one way or another, is how we will keep our humanity.
Beautiful post. It’s a relief to see somebody articulate what’s been on my mind, and in my heart for weeks. As you said, I think many of us feel the same way, but it is so difficult to express ourselves in this environment. I don’t want to politicize my heartbreak by putting it out in social media.
Brooke, your beautiful voice and words have touched my heart. Thank you for articulating what I feel. We need to stop this insidious divisive rhetoric and start coming together as one.
So well said❤️